Bettendorf High proposes new courses, expands CTE certificates and dual-credit offerings
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Summary
Bettendorf High School principal Christie Cluffy outlined curriculum changes across language arts, math, science and electives, described new CTE pathways and certificate work (welding, CNA, construction capstone) and explained the internal process for course proposals and dual-credit arrangements.
Christie Cluffy, Bettendorf High School principal, presented curriculum updates to the school board focused on expanding student pathways, academic supports and career-technical education offerings.
Cluffy said block scheduling and curricular redesign led the high school to add scaffolded "T" classes to provide literacy and content support, expand dual-credit/AP options through Eastern Iowa Community Colleges and increase course choices for students who need intervention or accelerated pathways. "Our students at Bettendorf High School are very blessed with a lot of opportunities," she said, describing expanded literacy supports and a move to scaffolded courses for students with IEPs.
On career and technical education, Cluffy and Haley Hoyt described a three-level welding program reworked by teacher Dan Milburn to match industry needs after an earlier college-level certificate required numerous online classes. They also described automotive technology, culinary arts, a CNA pathway tied to state licensure, small-business management certificates and early-childhood programs. Cluffy cited the student-built homes capstone as an example of a CTE sequence culminating in a real-world project.
Cluffy explained the course-proposal process: departments develop proposals informed by data and industry input, administrators run a SWOT analysis, department chairs review and central office gives a second review before the board receives recommendations. She told the board some course sections are constrained by staffing; for example, a loss of a health-science teacher reduced sections of nutrition and other health pathways for the moment.
Cluffy also described work to align language-arts instruction across grade levels, add multicultural literature and advanced journalism, and structure science honors courses as semester-length combined sequences to avoid gaps between chemistry 1 and 2. Several board members questioned enrollment, staffing and course sequencing; Cluffy said some changes were driven by local labor market feedback and by efforts to close learning gaps identified on state assessments.
The administration said no new language-arts or math course proposals are being brought forward this year; instead, the focus is on implementation, interventions and strengthening proficiency rates.
